Innovative Farmscraper Concept to Benefit China

Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut’s Asian Cairns project proposes a new look for China’s urban environments, offering an eco-friendly alternative known as farmscrapers (in lieu of skyscrapers). With China’s urbanized population growing, leaving fewer and fewer countryside inhabitants, there is an inevitable increase in energy consumption and, thus, an environmental concern. Callebaut’s project seeks to restructure the city of Shenzhen by placing his innovative vertical farming towers as a positive response to the impending environmental issues.

Designed to mimic the appearance of a cairn, a trail-marking mound of stones, the six eye-catching towers in Callebaut’s proposed project emulate a sense of nature. The multipurpose buildings combine rural and urban environments both in design and function. Each “pebble” in the residential and community structure serves a separate purpose. From concert hall spaces and shopping centers to gardens and agricultural sites, the sustainable towers offer a green solution to city dwelling.

Fully equipped with wind turbines, solar cells, and a means of growing organic vegetation, the primary purpose of Callebaut’s project is to provide positive energy and lessen the human race’s carbon footprint. The project states: “The challenge is to create a fertile urbanisation with zero carbon emission and with positive energy, this means producing more energy than it consumes, in order to conciliate the economical development with the protection of the planet.”

We have always been big fans of Pakistan-born artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s mesmerizing art. In 2014, we raved about Intersections, a captivating wooden cube that cast dreamy shadows with a single light bulb. Fortunately for us, Agha is still creating intricate installations in this style, with her most recent, radiant piece being All The Flowers Are For Me. Like Intersections, All The Flowers Are For Me plays with light and space.

Researchers in Myanmar made an incredible discovery last year by finding the first dinosaur tail preserved in amber. The findings were published recently in Current Biology and are all the more incredible due to that fact that the tail was covered in feathers. Paleontologist Lida Xing made the discovery in a local market, where amber is frequently sold for jewelry.